1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the identification and characterization of an enzyme involved in expression of the cancer phenotype, as well as to the identification and selection of compounds for its inhibition. In particular aspects, the invention relates to farnesyl protein transferase enzymes which are involved in, among other things, the transfer of farnesyl groups to oncogenic ras protein.
2. Description of the Related art
In recent years, some progress has been made in the elucidation of cellular events lending to the development or progression of various types of cancers. A great amount of research has centered on identifying genes which are altered or mutated in cancer relative to normal cells. In fact, genetic research has led to the identification of a variety of gene families in which mutations can lead to the development of a wide variety of tumors. The ras gene family is a family of closely related genes that frequently contain mutations involved in many human tumors, including tumors of virtually every tumor group (see, e.g., ref. 1 for a review). In fact, altered ras genes are the most frequently identified oncogenes in human tumors (2).
The ras gene family comprises three genes, H-ras, K-ras and N-ras, which encode similar proteins with molecular weights of about 21,000 (2). These proteins, often termed. p21ras, comprise a family of GTP-binding and hydrolyzing proteins that regulate cell growth when bound to the inner surface of the plasma membrane (3,4). Overproduction of P21ras proteins or mutations that abolish their GTP-ase activity lead to uncontrolled cell division (5). However, the transforming activity of ras is dependent on the localization of the protein to membranes, a property thought to be conferred by the addition of farnesyl groups (3,6).
A precedent for the covalent isoprenylation of proteins had been established about a decade ago when peptide mating factors secreted by several fungi were shown to contain a farnesyl group attached in thioether linkage to the C-terminal cysteine (7-9). Subsequent studies with the mating a-factor from Saccharomyces cerevisiae and farnesylated proteins from animal cells have clarified the mechanism of farnesylation. In each of these proteins the farnesylated cysteine is initially the fourth residue from the C terminus (see refs. 3, 4 and 10). Immediately after translation, in a sequence of events whose order is not yet totally established, a farnesyl group is attached to this cysteine, the protein is cleaved on the C-terminal side of this residue, and the free COOH group of the cysteine is methylated (3, 10, 11, 12). All of these reactions are required for the secretion of active a-factor in Saccharomyces (4).
Most, if not all, of the known p21ras proteins contain the cysteine prerequisite, which is processed by farnesylation, proteolysis and COOH-methylation, just as with the yeast mating factor (3, 4, 10, 11, 12). The farnesylated p21ras binds loosely to the plasma membrane, from which most of it can be released with salt (3). After binding to the membrane, some P21ras proteins are further modified by the addition of palmitate in thioester linkage to cysteines near the farnesylated C-terminal cysteine (3) Palmitylation renders the protein even more hydrophobic and anchors it more tightly to the plasma membrane.
However, although it appears to be clear that farnesylation is a key event in ras-related cancer development, prior to now, the nature of this event has remained obscure. Nothing has been known previously, for example, of the nature of the enzyme or enzymes which may be involved in ras tumorigenesis or required by the tumor cell to achieve farnesylation. If the mechanisms that underlie farnesylation of cancer-related proteins such as P21ras could be elucidated, then procedures and perhaps even pharmacologic agents could be developed in an attempt to control or inhibit expression of the oncogenic phenotype in a wide variety of cancers. It goes without saying that such discoveries would be of pioneering proportions in cancer therapy.
The present invention addresses one or more short-comings in the prior art through the identification and characterization of an enzyme, termed farnesyl:protein transferase, involved in the oncogenic process through the transfer of farnesyl groups to various proteins, including oncogenic ras proteins. Further, the present invention provides novel compounds, including proteins and peptides, that are capable of inhibiting the farnesyl:protein transferase enzyme.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide ready means for obtaining farnesyl transferase enzymes from tissues of choice using techniques which are proposed to be generally applicable to all such farnesyl protein transferases.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide means for obtaining these enzymes in a relatively purified form, allowing their use in predictive assays for identifying compounds having the ability to reduce the activity of or inhibit the farnesyl transferase activity, particularly in the context of p21ras proteins.
It is a still further object of the invention to identify classes of compounds which demonstrate farnesyl transferase inhibiting activity, along with a potential application of these compounds in the treatment of cancer, particularly ras-related cancers.
Farneayl:Protein Transferase Enzyme
Accordingly, in certain embodiments, the present invention relates to compositions which include a purified farnesyl protein transferase enzyme, characterized as follows:
a) capable of catalyzing the transfer of farnesyl to a protein or peptide having a farnesyl acceptor moiety;
b) capable of binding to an affinity chromatography medium comprised of TKCVIM coupled to a suitable matrix;
c) exhibiting a molecular weight of between about 70,000 and about 100,000 upon gel filtration chromatography; and
d) having a farnesyl transferase activity that is capable of being inhibited by one of the following peptides:
i) TKCVIM;
ii) CVIM; or
iii) KKSKTKCVIM.
As used. herein, the phrase xe2x80x9ccapable of catalyzing the transfer of farnesol to a protein or peptide having a farnesyl acceptor moiety,xe2x80x9d is intended to refer to the functional attributes of farnesyl transferase enzymes of the present invention, which catalyze the transfer of farnesol, typically in the form of all-trans farnesol, from all-trans farnesyl pyrophosphate to proteins which have a sequence recognized by the enzyme for attachment of the farnesyl moieties. Thus, the term xe2x80x9cfarnesyl acceptor moietyxe2x80x9d is intended to refer to any sequence, typically a short amino acid recognition sequence, which is recognized by the enzyme and to which a farnesyl group will be attached by such an enzyme.
Farnesyl acceptor moieties have been characterized by others in various proteins as a four amino acid sequence found at the carboxy terminus of target proteins. This four amino acid sequence has been characterized as -C-A-A-X, wherein xe2x80x9cCxe2x80x9d is a cysteine residue, xe2x80x9cAxe2x80x9d refers to any aliphatic amino acid, and xe2x80x9cXxe2x80x9d refers to any amino acid. of course, the term xe2x80x9caliphatic amino acidxe2x80x9d is well-known in the art to mean any amino acid having an aliphatic side chain, such as, for example, leucine, isoleucine, alanine, methionine, valine, etc. While the most preferred aliphatic amino acids, for the purposes of the present invention include valine and isoleucine, it is believed that virtually any aliphatic amino acids in the designated position can be recognized within the farnesyl acceptor moiety. In addition, the enzyme has been shown to recognize a peptide containing a hydroxylated amino acid (serine) in place of an aliphatic amino acid (CSIM). Of course, principal examples of proteins or peptides having a farnesyl acceptor moiety, for the purposes of the present invention, will be the p21ras proteins, including p21H-ras, p21K-rasA, p21K-rasB and p21N-ras. Thus, in light of the present disclosure, a wide variety of peptidyl sequences having a farnesyl acceptor moiety will become apparent.
As outlined above, the inventors have discovered that the farnesyl transferase enzyme is capable of binding to an affinity chromatography medium comprised of the peptide TKCVIM, coupled to a suitable matrix. This feature of the farnesyl transferase enzyme was discovered by the present inventors in developing techniques for its isolation. Surprisingly, it has been found that the coupling of a peptide such as one which includes CVIM, as does TKCVIM, to a suitable chromatography matrix allows for the purification of the protein to a significant degree, presumably through interaction and binding of the enzyme to the peptidal sequence. A basis for this interaction could be posited as due to the apparent presence of a farnesyl acceptor moiety within this peptide.
The phrase xe2x80x9ccapable of binding to an affinity chromatography medium comprised of TKCVIM coupled to a suitable matrix,xe2x80x9d is intended to refer to the ability of the protein to bind to such a medium under conditions as specified herein below. There will, of course, be conditions, such as when the pH is below 6.0, wherein the farnesyl transferase enzyme will not bind effectively to such a matrix. However, through practice of the techniques disclosed herein, one will be enabled to achieve this important objective.
There are numerous chromatography matrixes which are known in the art that can be applied to the practice of this invention. The inventors prefer to use activated CH-Sepharose 4B, to which peptides such as TKCVIM, or which incorporate the CVIM structure, can be readily attached and washed with little difficulty. However, the present invention is by no means limited to the use of CH-Sepharose 4B, and includes within its intended scope the use of any suitable matrix for performing affinity chromatography known in the art. Examples include solid matrices with covalently bound linkers, and the like, as well as matrices that contain covalently associated avidin, which can be used to bind peptides that contain biotin.
Farnesyl transferase enzymes of the present invention have typically been found to exhibit a molecular weight of between about 70,000 and about 100,000 upon gel filtration chromatography. For comparison purposes, this molecular weight was identified for farnesyl protein transferase through the use of a Superose 12 column, using a column size, sample load and parameters as described herein below.
It is quite possible, depending on the conditions employed, that different chromatographic techniques may demonstrate a farnesyl transferase protein that has an apparent molecular weight somewhat different than that identified using the preferred techniques set forth in the examples. It is intended therefore, that the molecular weight determination and range identified for farnesyl transferase in the examples which follow, are designated only with respect to the precise techniques disclosed herein.
It has been determined that the farnesyl:protein transferase can be characterized as including two subunits, each having a molecular weight of about 45 to 50 kDa, as estimated by SDS polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). These subunits have been designated as xcex1 and xcex2, with the a subunit migrating slightly higher than the xcex2 subunit, which suggests that the xcex1 subunit may be slightly larger. It has also been found that the xcex1 and xcex2 subunits have different amino acid sequences as determined by sequence analysis of tryptic digests prepared from the two purified proteins, and appear to be produced by separate genes. The peptide sequences obtained from the two proteins from rat brain are as follows:
The inventors have found that the holoenzyme forms a stable complex with [3H]farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) that can be isolated by gel electrophoresis. The [3H]FFP is not covalently bound to the enzyme, and is released unaltered when the enzyme is denatured. When incubated with an acceptor such as p21H-ras, the complex transfers [3H]farnesyl from the bound [3H]FFP to the ras protein. Furthermore, crosslinking studies have shown that p21H-ras binds to the xcex2 subunit, raising the possiblity that the [3H]FFP binds to the xcex1 subunit. If this is the case, it would invoke a reaction mechanism in which the xcex1 subunit act as a prenyl pyrophosphate carrier that delivers FPP to p21H-ras, which is bound to the xcex2 subunit. Interestingly, the inventors have recenlty discovered that the a subunit is shared with another prenyltransferase, geranylgeranyltransferase, that attaches 20-carbon geranylgeranyl to ras-related proteins.
An additional property discovered for farnesyl transferase enzymes is that they can be inhibited by peptides or proteins, particularly short peptides, which include certain structural features, related in some degree to the farnesyl acceptor moiety discussed above. As used herein, the word xe2x80x9cinhibitedxe2x80x9d refers to any degree of inhibition and is not limited for these purposes to only total inhibition. Thus, any degree of partial inhibition or relative reduction in farnesyl transferase activity is intended to be included within the scope of the term xe2x80x9cinhibited.xe2x80x9d Inhibition in this context includes the phenomenon by which a chemical constitutes an alternate substrate for the enzyme, and is therefore farnesylated in preference to the ras protein, as well as inhibition where the compound does not act as an alternate substrate for the enzyme.
Preparation of Farnesyl:Protein Transferase
The present invention is also concerned with particular techniques for the identification and isolation of farnesyl transferase enzymes. An important feature of the purification scheme disclosed herein involves the use of short peptide sequences which the inventors have discovered will bind the enzyme, allowing their attachment to chromatography matrices, such matrices may in turn, be used in connection with affinity chromatography to purify the enzyme to a relative degree. Thus, the present invention is concerned with a method of preparing a farnesyl transferase enzyme which includes the steps of:
(a) preparing a cellular extract which includes the enzyme;
(b) subjecting the extract to affinity chromatography on an affinity chromatography medium to bind the enzyme thereto, the medium comprised of a farnesyl transferase binding peptide coupled to a suitable matrix;
(c) washing the medium to remove impurities; and
(d) eluting the enzyme from the washed medium.
Thus, the first step of the purification protocol involves simply preparing a cellular extract which includes the enzyme. The inventors have discovered that the enzyme is soluble in buffers such as low-salt buffers, and it is proposed that virtually any buffer of this type can be employed for initial extraction of the protein from a tissue of choice. The inventors prefer a 50 mM Tris-chloride, pH 7.5, buffer which includes divalent chelator (e.g., 1 mM EDTA, 1 mM EGTA), as well as protease inhibitors such as PMSF and/or leupeptin. Of course, those of skill in the art will recognize that a variety of other types of tissue extractants may be employed where desired, so long as the enzyme is extractable in such a buffer and its subsequent activity is not adversely affected to a significant degree.
The type of tissue from which one will seek to obtain the farnesyl transferase enzyme is not believed to be of crucial importance. It is, in fact, believed that farnesyl transferase enzyme is a component of virtually all living cells. Therefore, the tissue of choice will typically be that which is most readily available to the practitioner. In that farnesyl transferase action appears to proceed similarly in most systems studied, including, yeast, cultured hamster cells and rat brain, it is believed that this enzyme will exhibit similar qualities, regardless of its source of isolation.
In preferred embodiments, the inventors have isolated the enzyme from rat brains in that this source is readily available. However, numerous other sources are contemplated to be directly applicable for isolation of the enzyme, including liver, yeast, reticulocytes, and even human placenta. Those of skill in the art, in light of the present disclosure, should appreciate that the techniques disclosed herein will be generally applicable to all such farnesyl transferases.
After the cell extract is prepared the enzyme is preferably subjected to two partial purification steps prior to affinity chromatography. These steps comprise preliminary treatment with 30% saturated ammonium sulfate which removes certain contaminants by precipitation. This is followed by treatment with 50% saturated ammonium sulfate, which precipitates the farnesyl transferase. The pelleted enzyme is then dissolved, preferably in a solution of 20 mM Tris-chloride (pH 7.5) containing 1 mM DTT and 20 xcexcM ZnCl2. After dialysis against the same buffer the enzyme solution is applied to an ion exchange column containing an ion exchange resin such as Mono Q. After washing of the column, the enzyme is eluted with a gradient of 0.25-1.0 M NaCl in the same buffer. The enzyme activity in each fraction is assayed as described below, and the fractions containing active enzyme are pooled and applied to the affinity column described below.
It is, of course, recognized that the preliminary purification steps described above are preferred laboratory procedures that might readily be replaced with other procedures of equivalent effect such as ion exchange chromatography on other resins or gel filtration chromatography. Indeed, it is possible that these steps could even be omitted and the crude cell extract might be carried directly to affinity chromatography.
After the preliminary purification steps, the extract may be subjected to affinity chromatography on an affinity chromatography medium which includes a farnesyl transferase binding peptide coupled to a suitable matrix. Typically, preferred farnesyl transferase binding peptides will comprise a peptide of at least 4 amino acids in length and will include a carboxy terminal sequence of -C-A-A-X, wherein:
C=cysteine;
A=an aliphatic or hydroxy amino acid; and
X=any amino acid.
Preferred binding peptides of the present invention which fall within the above general formula include structures such as -C-V-I-M, -C-S-I-M and -C-A-I-M, all of which structures are found to naturally occur in proteins which are believed to be acted upon by farnesyl protein transferases in nature. Particularly preferred are relatively short peptides, such as on the order of about 4 to 10 amino acids in length which incorporate one of the foregoing binding sequences. Of particular preference is the peptide T-K-C-V-I-M which is routinely employed by the inventors in the isolation of farnesyl protein transferase.
The next step in the overall general purification scheme involves simply washing the medium to remove impurities. That is, after subjecting the extract to affinity chromatography on the affinity matrix, one will desire to wash the matrix in a manner that will remove the impurities while leaving the farnesyl transferase enzyme relatively intact on the medium. A variety of techniques are known in the art for washing matrices such as the one employed herein, and all such washing techniques are intended to be included within the scope of this invention. Of course, for washing purposes, one will not desire to employ buffers that will release or otherwise alter or denature the enzyme. Thus, one will typically want to employ buffers which contain non-denaturing detergents such as octylglucoside buffers, but will want to avoid buffers containing, e.g., chaotropic reagents which serve to denature proteins, as well as buffers of low pH (e.g., less than 7), or of high ionic strength (e.g., greater than 1.0M), as these buffers tend to elute the bound enzyme from the affinity matrix.
After the matrix-bound enzyme has been sufficiently washed, for example in a medium-ionic strength buffer at essentially neutral pH, the specifically bound material can be eluted from the column by using a similar buffer but of reduced pH (for example, a pH of between about 4 and 5.5). At this pH, the enzyme will typically be found to elute from the preferred affinity matrices disclosed in more detail hereinbelow.
While it is believed that advantages in accordance with the invention can be realized simply through affinity chromatography techniques, additional benefits will be achieved through the application of additional purification techniques, such as gel filtration techniques. For example, the inventors have discovered that Sephacryl S-200 high resolution gel columns can be employed with significant benefit in terms of protein purification. However, the present disclosure is by no means limited to the use of Sephacryl S-200, and it is believed that virtually any type of gel filtration arrangement can be employed with some degree of benefit. For example, one may wish to use techniques such as gel filtration, employing media such as Superose, Agarose, or even Sephadex.
Through the application of various of the foregoing approaches, the inventors have successfully achieved farnesyl transferase enzyme compositions of relatively high specific activity, measured in terms of ability to transfer farnesol from farnesyl pyrophosphate. For the purposes of the present invention, one unit of activity is defined as the amount of enzyme that transfers 1 pmol of farnesol from farnesyl pyrophosphate (FPP) into acid-precipitable p21H-ras per hour under the conditions set forth in the Examples. Thus, in preferred embodiments the present invention is concerned with compositions of farnesyl transferase which include a specific activity of between about 5 and about 10 units/mg of protein. In more preferred embodiments, the present invention is concerned with compositions which exhibit a farnesyl transferase specific activity of between about 500 and about 600,000 units/mg of protein. Thus, in terms of the unit definition set forth above, the inventors have been able to achieve compositions having a specific activity of up to about 600,000 units/mg using techniques disclosed herein.
Of principal importance to the present invention is the discovery that proteins or peptides which incorporate a farnesyl acceptor sequence, such as one of the farnesyl acceptor sequences discussed above, function as inhibitors of farnesyl:protein transferase, and therefore may serve as a basis for anticancer therapy. In particular, it has been found that farnesyl acceptor peptides can successfully function both as false substrates that serve to inhibit the farnesylation of natural substrates such as p21ras, and as direct inhibitors which are not themselves farnesylated. Compounds falling into the latter category are particularly important in that these compounds are xe2x80x9cpurexe2x80x9d inhibitors that are not consumed by the inhibition reaction and. can continue to function as inhibitors. Both types of compounds constitute an extremely important aspect of the invention in that they provide a means for blocking farnesylation of p21ras proteins, for example, in an affected cell system.
Inhibitors or Farnesyl:Protein Transferase
The farnesyl transferase inhibitor embodiments of the present invention concern in a broad sense a peptide or protein other than p21ras proteins, lamin a or lamin b, or yeast mating factor a, which peptide or protein includes a farnesyl acceptor sequence within its structure and is further capable of inhibiting the farnesylation of p21ras by farnesyl transferase.
In preferred embodiments, the farnesyl transferase inhibitor of the present invention will include a farnesyl acceptor or inhibitory amino acid sequence having the amino acids -C-A-A-X, wherein:
C=cysteine;
A=any aliphatic, aromatic or hydroxy amino acid; and
X=any amino acid.
Typically, the farnesyl acceptor or inhibitory amino acid sequence will be positioned at the carboxy terminus of the protein or peptide such that the cysteine residue is in the fourth position from the carboxy terminus.
In preferred embodiments, the inhibitor will be a relatively short peptide such as a peptide from about 4 to about 10 amino acids in length. To date, the most preferred inhibitor tested is a tetrapeptide which incorporates the -C-A-A-X recognition structure. It is possible that even shorter peptides will ultimately be preferred for practice of the invention in that the shorter the peptide, the greater the uptake by such peptide by biological systems, and the reduced likelihood that such a peptide will be destroyed or otherwise rendered biologically ineffective prior to effecting inhibition. However, numerous suitable inhibitory peptides have been prepared and tested by the present inventors, and shown to inhibit enzymatic activities virtually completely, at reasonable concentrations, e.g., between about 1 and 3 xcexcM (with 50% inhibitions on the order of 0.1 to 0.5 xcexcM).
While, broadly speaking, it is believed that compounds exhibiting an IC50 of between about 0.01 xcexcM and 10 xcexcM will have some utility as farnesyl transferase inhibitors, the more preferred compounds will exhibit an ICso of between 0.01 xcexcM and 1 xcexcM. The most preferred compounds will generally have an IC50 of between about 0.01 xcexcM and 0.3 xcexcM.
Exemplary peptides which have been prepared, tested and shown to inhibit farnesyl transferase at an IC50 of between 0.01 and 10 xcexcM include CVIM; KKSKTKCVIM; TKCVIM; RASNRSCAIM; TQSPQNCSIM; CIIM;, CVVM; CVLS; CVLS; CVLM; CAIM; CVLM(SEQ ID NO:12); CCVQ(SEQ ID NO:13); CIIC(SEQ ID NO:14); CIIS(SEQ ID NO15); CVIS(SEQ ID NO:16); CVLS(SEQ ID NO:17); CVIA(SEQ ID NO:18); CVIL(SEQ ID NO:19); CLIL(SEQ ID NO:20); CLLL(SEQ ID NO:21); CTVA(SEQ ID NO:22); CVAM(SEQ ID NO:23); CKIM(SEQ ID NO:24); CLIM(SEQ ID NO:25); CVLM(SEQ ID NO:26); CFIM(SEQ ID NO:27); CVFM(SEQ ID NO:28); CVIF(SEQ ID NO:29); CEIM(SEQ ID NO:30); CGIM(SEQ ID NO:31); CPIM(SEQ ID NO:32); CVYM(SEQ ID NO:33); CVTM(SEQ ID NO:34); CVPM(SEQ ID NO:35); CVSM(SEQ ID NO:36); CVIF(SEQ ID NO:37); CVIV(SEQ ID NO:38); CVIP(SEQ ID NO:39); CVII(SEQ ID NO:40).
A variety of peptides have been synthesized and tested such that now the inventors can point out peptide sequencing having particularly high inhibitory activity, i.e., wherein relatively lower concentrations of the peptides will exhibit an equivalent inhibitory activity (IC50). Interestingly, it has been found that slight changes in the sequence of the acceptor site can result in loss of inhibitory activity. Thus, when TKCVIM is changed to TKVCIM, the inhibitory activity of the peptide is reversed. Similarly, when a glycine is substituted for one of the aliphatic amino acids in CAAX, a decrease in inhibitory activity is observed. However, it is proposed that as long as the general formula as discussed above is observed, one will achieve a structure that is inhibitory to farnesyl transferase.
A particularly important discovery is the finding that the incorporation of an aromatic residue such as phenylalanine, tyrosine or tryptophan into the third position of the CAAX sequence will result in a xe2x80x9cpurexe2x80x9d inhibitor. As used herein, a xe2x80x9cpurexe2x80x9d farnesyl:protein transferase inhibitor is intended to refer to one which does not in itself act as a substrate for farnesylation by the enzyme. This is particularly important in that the inhibitor is not consumed by the inhibition process, leaving the inhibitor to continue its inhibitory function unabated. Exemplary compounds which have been tested and found to act as pure inhibitors include CVIF (SEQ ID NO:29), CVFM (SEQ ID NO:28), and CVYM (SEQ ID NO:33). Pure inhibitors will therefore incorporate an inhibitory amino acid sequence rather than an acceptor sequence, with the inhibitory sequence characterized generally as having an aromatic moiety associated with the penultimate carboxy terminal amino acid, whether it be an aromatic amino acid or another amino acid which has been modified to incorporate an aromatic structure.
Importantly, the pure inhibitor CVFM is the best inhibitor identified to date by the inventors. It should be noted that the related peptide, CFVM (SEQ ID NO:28) is not a xe2x80x9cpurexe2x80x9d inhibitor; its inhibitory activity is due to its action as a substrate for farnesylation.
The potency of CVFM peptides as inhibitors of the enzyme may be enhanced by attaching substituents such as fluoro, chloro or nitro derivatives to the phenyl ring. An example is parachlorophenylalanine, which has been tested and found to have xe2x80x9cpurexe2x80x9d inhibitory activity. It may also be possible to substitute more complex hydrophobic substances for the phenyl group of phenylalanine. These would include naphthyl ring systems.
The present inventors propose that additional improvements can be made in pharmaceutical embodiments of the inhibitor by including within their structure moieties which will improve their hydrophobicity, which it is proposed will improve the uptake of peptidyl structures by cells. Thus, in certain embodiments, it is proposed to add fatty acid or polyisoprenoid side chains to the inhibitor which, it is believed, will improve their lipophilic nature and enhance their cellular uptake.
Other possible structural modifications include the addition of benzyl, phenyl or acyl groups to the amino acid structures, preferably at a position sufficiently removed from the farnesyl acceptor site, such as at the amino terminus of the peptides. It is proposed that such structures will serve to improve lypophilicity. In this regard, the inventors have found that N-acetylated and N-octylated peptides such as modified CVIM retain there much of their inhibitory activity, whereas S-acetoamidated CVIM appears to lose much of its inhibitory activity.
The invention also contemplates that modifications can be made in the structure of inhibitory proteins or peptides to increase their stability within the body, such as modifications that will reduce or eliminate their susceptibility to degradation, e.g., by proteases. For example, the inventors contemplate that useful structural modifications will include the use of amino acids which are less likely to be recognized and cleaved. by proteases, such as the incorporation of D-amino acids, or amino acids not normally found in proteins such as ornithine or taurine. Other possible modifications include the cyclization of the peptide, derivatization of the NH groups of the peptide bonds with acyl groups, etc.
Assays for Farnesyl:Protein Transferase
In still further embodiments, the invention concerns a method for assaying farnesyl transferase activity in a composition. This is an important aspect of the invention in that such an assay system provides one with not only the ability to follow isolation and purification of the enzyme, but it also forms the basis for developing a screening assay for candidate inhibitors of the enzyme, discussed in more detail below. The assay method generally includes simply determining the ability of a composition suspected of having farnesyl transferase activity to catalyze the transfer of farnesol to an acceptor protein or peptide. As noted above, a farnesyl acceptor protein or peptide is generally defined as a protein or peptide which will act as a substrate for farnesyl transferase and which includes a recognition site such as -C-A-A-X, as defined above.
Typically, the assay protocol is carried out using farnesyl pyrophosphate as the farnesol donor in the reaction. Thus, one will find particular benefit in constructing an assay wherein a label is present on the farnesyl moiety of farnesyl pyrophosphate, in that one can measure the appearance of such a label, for example, a radioactive label, in the farnesyl acceptor protein or peptide.
As with the characterization of the enzyme discussed above, the farnesyl acceptor sequence which are employed in connection with the assay can be generally defined by -C-A-A-X, with preferred embodiments including sequences such as -C-V-I-M, -C-S-I-M, -C-A-I-M, etc., all of which have been found to serve as useful enzyme substrates. It is believed that most proteins or peptides that include a carboxy terminal sequence of -C-A-A-X can be successfully employed in farnesyl protein transferase assays. For use in the assay a preferred farnesyl acceptor protein or peptide will be simply a p21ras protein. This is particularly true where one seeks to identify inhibitor substances, as discussed in more detail below, which function either as xe2x80x9cfalse acceptorsxe2x80x9d in that they divert farnesylation away from natural substrates by acting as substrates in and or themselves, or as xe2x80x9cpurexe2x80x9d inhibitors which are not in themselves farnesylated. The advantage of employing a natural substrate such as p21ras is several fold, but includes the ability to separate the natural substrate from the false substrate to analyze the relative degrees of farnesylation.
However, for the purposes of simply assaying enzyme specific activity, e.g., assays which do not necessarily involve differential labeling or inhibition studies, one can readily employ short peptides as a farnesyl acceptor in such protocols, such as peptides from about 4 to about 10 amino acids in length which incorporate the recognition signal at their carboxy terminus. Exemplary farnesyl acceptor protein or peptides include but are not limited to CVIM; KKSKTKCVIM; TKCVIM; RASNRSCAIM; TQSPQNCSIM; CIIM; CVVM; and CVLS.
Assays for Candidate Substances
In still further embodiments, the present invention concerns a method for identifying new farnesyl transferase inhibitory compounds, which may be termed as xe2x80x9ccandidate substances.xe2x80x9d It is contemplated that this screening technique will prove useful in the general identification of any compound that will serve the purpose of inhibiting farnesyl transferase. It is further contemplated that useful compounds in this regard will in no way be limited to proteinaceous or peptidyl compounds. In fact, it may prove to be the case that the most useful pharmacologic compounds for identification through application of the screening assay will be non-peptidyl in nature and, e.g., which will be recognized and bound by the enzyme, and serve to inactivate the enzyme through a tight binding or other chemical interaction.
Thus, in these embodiments, the present invention is directed to a method for determining the ability of a candidate substance to inhibit a farnesyl transferase enzyme, the method including generally the steps of:
(a) obtaining an enzyme composition comprising a farnesyl transferase enzyme that is capable of transferring a farnesyl moiety to a farnesyl acceptor substance;
(b) admixing a candidate substance with the enzyme composition; and
(c) determining the ability of the farnesyl transferase enzyme to transfer a farnesyl moiety to a farnesyl acceptor substrate in the presence of the candidate substance.
An important aspect of the candidate substance screening assay hereof is the ability to prepare a farnesyl transferase enzyme composition in a relative purified form, for example, in a manner as discussed above. This is an important aspect of the candidate substance screening assay in that without at least a relatively purified preparation, one will not be able to assay specifically for enzyme inhibition, as opposed to the effects of the inhibition upon other substances in the extract which then might affect the enzyme. In any event, the successful isolation of the farnesyl transferase enzyme now allows for the first time the ability to identify new compounds which can be used for inhibiting this cancer-related enzyme.
The candidate screening assay is quite simple to set up and perform, and is related in many ways to the assay discussed above for determining enzyme activity. Thus, after obtaining a relatively purified preparation of the enzyme, one will desire to simply admix a candidate substance with the enzyme preparation, preferably under conditions which would allow the enzyme to perform its farnesyl transferase function but for inclusion of a inhibitory substance. Thus, for example, one will typically desire to include within the admixture an amount of a known farnesyl acceptor substrate such as a p21ras protein. In this fashion, one can measure the ability of the candidate substance to reduce farnesylation of the farnesyl acceptor substrate relatively in the presence of the candidate substance.
Accordingly, one will desire to measure or otherwise determine the activity of the relatively purified enzyme in the absence of the added candidate substance relative to the activity in the presence of the candidate substance in order to assess the relative inhibitory capability of the candidate substance.
Methods of Inhibiting Parnesyl:Protein Transferase
In still further embodiments, the present invention is concerned with a method of inhibiting a farnesyl transferase enzyme which includes subjecting the enzyme to an effective concentration of a farnesyl transferase inhibitor such as one of the family of peptidyl compounds discussed above, or with a candidate substance identified in accordance with the candidate screening assay embodiments. This is, of course, an important aspect of the invention in that it is believed that by inhibiting the farnesyl transferase enzyme, one will be enabled to treat various aspects of cancers, such as ras-related cancers. It is believed that the use of such inhibitors to block the attachment of farnesyl groups to ras proteins in malignant cells of patients suffering with cancer or pre-cancerous states will serve to treat or palliate the cancer, and may be useful by themselves or in conjunction with other cancer therapies, including chemotherapy, resection, radiation therapy, and the like.
Genes Encoding Farnesyl:Protein Transferase Enzyme
In still further embodiments, the invention relates to the preparation of farnesyl:protein transferase through the application of recombinant DNA technology. The inventors have recently determined the feasibility of isolating genes encoding one or both of the farnesyl:protein transferase subunits. It is proposed that such recombinant genes may be employed for a variety of applications, including, for example, the recombinant production of the subunits themselves or proteins or peptides whose structure is derived from that of the subunits, in the preparation of nucleic acid probes or primers, which can, for example, be used in the identification of related gene sequences or studying the expression of the subunit(s), and the like.
It is proposed that the recombinant cloning of the genes encoding the respective a and P subunits may be achieved most readily through the use of the peptide sequence information set forth above. The direct manner in which to proceed with such cloning is through the preparation of a recombinant clone bank, preferably cDNA clone bank using poly A+ RNA from a desired cell source (although it is believed that where desired, one could employ a genomic bank). In that the enzyme appears to be fairly ubiquitous in nature, it is believed that virtually any eukaryotic cell source may be employed for the initial preparation of RNA. One may mention by way of example, yeast, mammalian, plant, eukaryotic parasites and even viral-infected types of cells as the source of starting poly A+ RNA.
Since the protein was initially purified from a mammalian source (rat), one may find particular advantage in employing a mammalian cell source, such as a rat or human cell line, as an RNA source. It may, however, be advantageous to first test the cell to be employed to ensure that relatively high levels of the enzyme are being produced by the selected cell line. Rat brain, PC12 (a rat adrenal tumor cell line) and KNRK (a newborn rat kindney cell line) cells are presently the most preferred by the inventors in that they very high levels of endogenous farnesyl:protein transferase activity. The inventors have proceeded in initial studies employing the foregoing cell types as sources of RNA.
It is believed that the type of CDNA clone bank is not particularly crucial. However, one will likely find particular benefit through the preparation and use of a phage-based bank, such as xcexgt10 or xcexgt11, preferably using a particle packaging system. Phage-based cDNA banks are preferred because of the large numbers of recombinants that may be prepared and screened will relative ease. The manner in which the cDNA itself is prepared is not believed to be particularly crucial. However, the inventors believe that it may be beneficial to employ the both oligo dT as well as randomly primed cDNA in that the size of the mRNA encoding the farnesyl:protein transferase may be large and thus difficult to reverse transcribe in its entirety.
Once a clone bank has been prepared, it may be screened in a number of fashions. For example, one could employ the subunit peptide sequences set forth above for the preparation of nucleotide probes which may be employed directly to screen the bank by hybridization screening. However, a more preferred approach is to use the peptide sequences in the preparation of primers which may be used in PCR-based reactions to amplify and then sequence portions of the selected subunit gene, to thereby confirm the actual underlying DNA sequence, and to prepare longer and more specific probes for screening. These primers may also be employed for the preparation of cDNA clone banks which are enriched for 3xe2x80x2 and/or 5xe2x80x2 sequences. This may be important, e.g., where less than a full length clone is obtained through the initially prepared bank.
Once a positive clone or clones have been obtained, and engineered to ensure a full length sequence (if needed and where desired), one may proceed to prepare an expression system for the recombinant preparation of one or both subunits. It is believed that virtually any expression system may be employed for preparing one or both subunits. For example, it is envisioned that even bacterial expression systems may be employed, e.g., where one envisions using the subunit for its immunologic rather than biologic properties. Of course, where a biologically active enzyme is needed, one will prefer to employ a eukaryotic expression system employing eukaryotic cells, most preferably cotransformed with DNA encoding both subunits.
It is believed that virtually any eukaryotic expression system may be employed as desired. A preferred system for expression of farnesyl:protein transferase DNA is a cytomegalo virus promoter-based expression vector in simian COS cells or human embryonic kidney 293 cells, although other systems, including but not limited to baculovirus-based, glutamine synthase-based or dihydrofolate reductase-based systems may prove to be particularly useful. It is believed that once a full length recombinant gene has been obtained, whether it be cDNA based or genomic, then the engineering of such a gene for expression in a prokaryotic or eukaryotic system may be performed by techniques generally known to those of skill in recombinant expression.